Beset by overly optimistic budgeting, RTD’s FasTracks project was quickly acquiring a reputation for being long on promises of regional mass transit and short on accomplishments.

All of that began to turn around just a few years ago as the Regional Transportation District seemed to accept the fact that voters probably wouldn’t approve another tax hike any time soon to finish out the ambitious project.

Instead of just sitting on their hands, RTD officials, led by General Manager Phil Washington, put the accelerator down on finding creative financing mechanisms and new sources of funding that would allow one line after another to be built.

The latest chapter in this book involves the agency’s aggressive efforts to get the north metro line underway, bringing FasTracks to the last large swath of the metro area that had been promised a line but had yet to receive anything.

RTD’s board is scheduled to vote on the $343 million construction project on Tuesday, and we hope they approve it.

The total cost for the 18.5-mile line, which will run from Union Station in Denver to 124th Avenue in Thornton, is $708 million. That includes RTD’s costs for having bought trains and rights-of-way, and the expansion of a train maintenance facility to accommodate the north metro line.

The project was set in motion by an unsolicited bid in February, followed by a streamlined process that ultimately involved four bidders. If the board approves the project, groundbreaking is expected in January or February.

The timeline has been impressive, and has allowed RTD to take advantage of favorable interest rates and contractors looking for work.

There are still significant pieces of the FasTracks project that are financially difficult to build, such as the Northwest rail line.

But the agency’s recent history in building promised lines west to Golden, and along I-225 in Aurora, show the kind of gumption that far too often is lacking in bureaucracies.